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Bush To Be Briefed By Financial Markets Working Group Tuesday
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday will be briefed on financial-market conditions by his Working Group on Financial Markets, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Monday.
The briefing will occur after Bush returns from a trip to Houston and Galveston, Texas, where he will inspect areas damaged by Hurricane Ike.
The working group is led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and includes the chairs of the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Bush and Paulson met earlier Monday, as the collapse of Lehman Brothers (LEH) and the woes of American International Group (AIG) sent shudders through markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down more than 500 points, a massive sell-off propelled by investor fears over the health of the financial system.
Though the working group meets regularly, Bush hasn't sat down with it since March 17, a day after the Fed provided a backstop for J.P. Morgan Chase's (JPM) purchase of Bear Stearns.
Earlier Monday, Bush said the administration is working to ease any pain the market's current problems may inflict on the economy at large.
"In the short run, adjustments in the financial markets can be painful - both for the people concerned about their investments, and for the employees of the affected firms," he said. "In the long run, I'm confident that our capital markets are flexible and resilient, and can deal with these adjustments."
-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@ dowjones.com